Labour market information

About

This section describes some research studies into the use and effectiveness of labour market information (and intelligence) to support career guidance practitioners and clients.

In doing so, we have noted the potential contribution that the study could make to career practitioners or careers service managers.

Studies vary from focussing on practice to systems of career guidance in which LMI is embedded. There is also a synergy between LMI and digital career tools, which often house LMI along with other information and functionality.

Looking forward, we also see studies that are looking at how LMI can and will evolve in the age of Big Data and analytics, and with the introduction of AI which can be used to find meaning in data.

Key learning highlights

Some of the key points that offer indicators on the state of research in this area include the following:

• An international review of LMI practices found that systems varied across OECD countries, with a very diverse range of provision. While websites generally supported secondary and tertiary students, there were gaps for adults, young learners, parents and multilingual (Hofer et al, 2020)

• A literature review of work over the period of 2009-19 suggested a clearer definition of LMI is needed. There are frequently gaps in provision. Technology can both help but introduce quality issues. (Alexander et al, 2019)

• Many uses cases are evolving for the application of AI in labour market information creation, analysis and provision (e.g. Liu et al, 2024)